Flying during the pandemic has been a bring-your-own food and (soft) drinks affair when traveling in economy.
Airlines ditched or significantly scaled back in-flight food and drink service shortly after the coronavirus crisis began to reduce contact between flight attendants and travelers and the risk of spreading the contagious virus.
The lack of snacks, meals and drinks wasn’t a big deal in the beginning because so few travelers were boarding planes, but as travel slowly starts to rebound, some travelers are wondering when in-flight service will resume, especially on longer flights. (Others wish airlines wouldn’t serve a thing, including water, during the pandemic because it encourages passengers to take their masks off.)
Eight months into the pandemic, United Airlines is tiptoeing back in.
Beginning Nov. 17, the Chicago-based airline plans to start selling food, beer and wine in economy on select flights from its Denver hub. The test will include passengers on flights from Denver to eight destinations: Boston; Chicago; Honolulu; Houston; Los Angeles; Newark, New Jersey; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C.
United is currently only offering economy passengers on domestic flights 2 hours and 20 minutes or longer a complimentary snack bag with two snacks and a small bottle of water. Passengers on all flights receive complimentary soft drinks. No alcohol is available in regular economy and that will remain the case except on the select flights out of Denver.
The decision to start selling food, beer and wine again stems from feedback from customers that in-flight service is “an important part of their travel experience,” United spokeswoman Christine Salamone said.
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